MP

Nick Lalich (Labor) since a 2008 by-election.

Profile

In Sydney's south-west, the electorate of Cabramatta includes the suburbs of Cabramatta, Canley Vale, Lansvale, St Johns Park, Mount Pritchard and Bonnyrigg. The electorate's population has the state's highest concentration of Asian-born Australians and their children. The Cabramatta Migrant Hostel was where many Vietnamese refugees were first settled in the 1970s and is the origin of the electorate's enormous Vietnamese community.

Background

Cabramatta was first contested at the 1981 election when it was won by Wran government Minister Eric Bedford, having represented much of the district since 1968 as member for Fairlfield. He defeated the Liberal Party's Kerry Chikarovski in her first run for Parliament, an example of doing the hard yards in an unwinnable seat to earn credit points for the future. Bedford retired in 1985, succeeded at a by-election by John Newman, who held this seat until he was murdered in late 1994. With local Labor Party branches under a cloud due to rampant branch stacking, ALP Head Office imposed former Young Labor President Reba Meagher as the new candidate, and she was easily elected without a Liberal opponent at an October 1994 by-election. Meagher was often criticised for not living in the electorate, but this had little impact on her re-election at four subsequent state elections. Meagher was appointed a Parliamentary Secretary after the 1999 election, joining the Ministry after the 2003 election. She was appointed to the difficult Health Ministry after the 2007 election and was plagued by the usual problems that assail the portfolio and was increasingly seen as a liability for the government. As Morris Iemma tried to re-structure his government after the failed bid to privatise electricity, he chose to jettison Meagher. There was no reprieve for Meagher after Iemma himself was dumped in favour of Nathan Rees and Meagher resigned from Parliament. Labor's new candidate Nick Lalich retained the seat at an October 2008 by-election, but not without a swing to the Liberal Party of 21.8%.

By-election Result

Notes on Margin

The 2007 election margin is being used. Based on the 2008 by-election, the Labor margin would be only 7.2%.

2006 Census Profile

Cabramatta is Sydney's biggest migrant and Asian-born electorate with employment concentrated in low-skilled and low-paid occupations. Cabramatta has the state's highest proportion of residents born overseas (54.3%), of residents born in South East Asia (32.0%, ten times the state average), of people born in non-English speaking countries (52.1%, three times state average), of people with both parents born overseas (75.3%) of people with at least one parent born overseas (79.5%), of people not fluent in English (26.3%, four times state average), and people using a language other than English at home (72.1%, four times state average). By religion, Cabramatta has the highest proportion on non-Christians (38.5%, five times state average), of Buddhists (35.0%, 15 times state average), lowest proportion of Anglicans (5.9%) and fourth lowest proportion of Christians (46.0%). In employment, Cabramatta has the lowest proportion of government and defence workers (2.5%), lowest proportion employed in education (3.1%), the lowest proportion in professional employment, the second lowest with tertiary qualifications (11.2%), and at the same time the highest proportion of workers with no qualifications (63.2%), working as tradesmen or labourers (30.6%) and people employed in manufacturing (23.8%). Together these lead to Cabramatta having the state's highest proportion of low income households, less than $500 per week (24%). It also has the second highest proportion of single parent families (16.9%). It is also one of the state's most stable populations, with the second lowest proportion of residents who moved between the 2001 and 2006 Census (26.2%).

Assessment

That Labor will have to devote campaign resources to defending Cabramatta, once the party's safest seat, is an example of the predicament it faces at the 2011 election.

2011 BALLOT PAPER (4 Candidates)

Candidate Name

Party

GRIFFITHS Daniel

The Greens

TADROS Peter

Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group)

LE Dai

Liberal

LALICH Nick

Labor

CANDIDATES

Daniel Griffiths

Greens

Griffiths has lived in the Fairfield area for 9 years. He is currently studying a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice at the Australian National University. He has an undergraduate Social Science (Criminology) Degree and an undergraduate Law Degree from the University of Western Sydney. He spent part of his Criminology Degree living in Ljubljana, Slovenia and Grenoble, France. Daniel studied at the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, University of Maribor, and, the Grenoble Institute of Political Studies, Pierre Mendès-France University.

Tadros was born in Sydney and has lived in the Cabramatta electorate for almost all of his 35 years. He attended Westfields Sports High School and graduated in 1993. He currently works in the Finance and Insurance Industry and completed his studies via the National Institute of Accountants. He is actively involved in Sydney's Coptic (Egyptian) Christian community and is a Human Rights activist.

Le worked as a documentary producer for ABC Radio National before being selected as Liberal candidate for the 2008 Cabramatta by-election. Le was born in Vietnam and migrated to Australia as an eleven year old, arriving with her mother and two younger sisters after three years in a Philippines refugee camp. Le produced a documentary on former local Cabramatta identity Phuong Ngo, who has been convicted of organising the murder of former Cabramatta MP John Newman. Le produced the documentary with her partner Markus Lambert, who contested Cabramatta as an Independent at the 1999 election, eating into the Labor margin.

63 year-old Lalich migrated to Australia with his parents as a three year-old. His family was Serbian and escaped from Yugoslavia to Egypt in 1944, where Lalich was born. Lalich worked for Prospect County Council before his election to Fairfield Council in 1987. An electrician and builder by trade, he ran a family building company before entering Parliament at a 2008 by-election. Lalich was first elected Mayor of Fairfield in 1993/4, and became the city's first popularly elected Mayor at the 2004 local government elections, easily re-elected to the position in September 2008. He still holds the post despite his election as MP for Cabramatta in October 2008.